His agent is calling it "the best rock'n'roll book of all time" and publishers obviously agree, as bids for Keith Richards' autobiography reached a whopping $7.3m (£3.6m) at an auction in New York this week.

Anticipation for the as-yet-unwritten memoirs has been building since May, when the Rolling Stone guitarist announced he was ready to put the story of his life down on paper. Fears that Richards may "do a Jagger" and renege on the deal because he can't recall enough of his infamously debauched past have been dismissed by his agent, Ed Victor, who has paired the Rolling Stone with long-time friend and author James Fox for the project. "He's known Keith for 30 years," Victor said of Fox.

The battle is now down to two publishing houses, Harper Collins and Little Brown, with Richards yet to accept an offer. The New York Post is reporting that neither of the publishing houses is prepared to top the current bid and that the choice will now come down to who pitches the best editor and marketing campaign.

Richards' only comment on the sale of his memoirs, meanwhile, has been that he wishes to get a higher sum than the $5 million Eric Clapton received for his forthcoming autobiography.